Governor Maura Healey reminds AIM President and CEO Brooke Thomson, a native of Kansas City, which team is going to the Super Bowl this year.

Governor Maura Healey lost little time in setting the tone for her Massachusetts Business Address to AIM this morning:

“We are focusing on lowering costs and trying to do so across all the areas that matter to you,” the governor told a packed audience of more than 500 business leaders in Newton.

The governor acknowledged that Massachusetts must address the high costs of housing, energy, health care and other elements that impede the commonwealth’s economic progress. It must do so, the governor said, at a moment when federal policy has hollowed out some $3.7 billion from the state budget.

“These are the times we find ourselves in,” the governor said.

In a speech, and later in conversation with AIM President and CEO Brooke Thomson, Governor Healey said that the commonwealth maintains enormous competitive advantages, ranging from a uniquely talented work force to an infrastructure of globally respected universities, research institutions and medical facilities. She pointed to the recent decision by transplant-technology company Transmedics Group Inc. to locate its new headquarters in Somerville.

She said such success stories reflect close collaboration between the private and public sectors.

“That’s how the commonwealth is going to succeed – everyone working together. We need everyone at the table.”

The governor addressed a range specific issues:

• Fiscal Year 2027 Budget – The governor’s budget proposal envisions a 1 percent spending increase, the lowest in three years. She told the audience that her approach to the budget hinges on five factors: Maximize “every single taxpayer dollar”; seek the best return on investment; gain efficiencies; help the most vulnerable residents; and invest in fundamentals.
• Housing – More than 100,000 homes have been built, permitted or are under development as the commonwealth seeks to build the 220,000 units needed to maintain the stability of the housing market. The governor urged business leaders to support housing development at the local level.
• Energy – The governor said her administration was able to secure a 25 percent reduction in electric rates and a 10 percent reduction in natural-gas rates for the next several months. In the long term, she stressed the need for more energy supply, including a new transmission line from Hydro-Quebec. She said her energy bill, which is pending on Beacon Hill, would save some $13 million. “Let me be clear – I have been all of the above from the beginning,” she said.
• Small business – The commonwealth has eliminated 25 percent of business regulations. The administration is now reviewing additional reforms.
• Education – The governor has set an objective of enrolling 100,000 students in “early college” during the next 10 years. The program has allowed some students to receive their high-school diplomas and an associate’s degree at the same time.
• Apprenticeships – The state is expanding apprenticeships to non-traditional industries, including artificial intelligence.
• Graduation Standards – Governor Healey said the decision by Massachusetts voters to do away with the MCAS graduation standard provided an opportunity to re-set the education debate and examine the knowledge students need for higher education, careers or the military. She said Massachusetts remains the top-ranked state in the nation on education and cannot afford to lose ground.